ROLLA, MO – Momentum swung back and forth all night in the Miners' final match of the Missouri S&T Invitational, but in the end Missouri Southern strung together the final run of the night to outlast Missouri S&T in five sets (20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-25, 15-9).
Missouri S&T started the match with an early punch, racing ahead 10-6 thanks to two kills and two block assists by Kate Zipprich (Hardin, IL/Calhoun). Back-to-back aces by MSSU's Brenna Weaver were instrumental in the Lions' ensuing 8-2 run that turned the deficit into a 14-12 lead. But after Selin Ozdemir (Ankara, Turkey/TED Ankara Koleji) stepped to the service line, the Miners regained momentum and rode an 11-2 run to take the opening set 25-20.
The Lions responded in the second with their own early surge. After trading points to a 5-5 tie, Weaver sparked an 8-3 burst with a kill and an ace that gave MSSU a little breathing room at 13-8. Missouri S&T clawed back within one at 13-12, but a trio of kills by Alana Moesch steadied the Lions and pushed the visitors ahead 20-15. The Miners again closed the gap late—kills from Decker and Ozdemir pulling them within 23–21—but the Lions closed it out with a pair of kills to even the match at one set each.
S&T opened set three on fire, racing to a 9–5 lead after three Ozdemir kills. But MSSU flipped the script with a 14-5 run, keyed by Hannah Allick at the service line. That led to a 19–14 lead for the Lions that was too much for the Miners to overcome; even though they trimmed it to 23–20 before dropping the set.
Facing a 2-1 hole, S&T had their best stretch in the fourth. The Miners stormed out 13-5 behind three early kills and a service ace from Decker. Missouri Southern never recovered, with five different Miners contributing kills down the stretch as they pulled away to take the fourth set 25-15.
The Lions wasted no time in the finale, delivering the knockout run right away with four straight points. The Miners never got closer than four the rest of the set, as Missouri Southern continued to pile on the kills, extending their lead to as many as 8 before fending off a late surge by S&T to win the final set 15-9.
The win pushed Missouri Southern to 3-1 on the year, while Missouri S&T dropped to 1-3 despite a strong performance. Ozdemir led S&T in scoring with 19.5 points and 15 kills, followed closely by Decker who had 12 kills of her own. The team had another strong match at the net defensively, recording 20 blocks with Zipprich contributing 8 of them. Both Ozdemir and Zipprich were named all-tournament team for their performances across all four matches.
What's Next
The Miners travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Friday to participate in the Hampton Inn Invitational on the campus of Wisconsin-Parkside.
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